Knappschaftsheilstätte Sülzhayn
THE ABANDONED HOSPITAL IN GERMANY
Located in the southern Harz I found this abandoned hospital ‘Knappschaftsheilstätte Sülzhayn’. It was abandoned in 1997 and eventually demolished in 2009.
During the year 1896 they started building this site, on the Steierberg in Sülzhayn, today a district of Ellrich. The buildings were designed by architect Gustav Hasse.
It took two years to build the complex, but eventually in 1898, the first of the 100 patients that could be treated here were admitted. It was initially used as a lung sanatorium for miners. Sanitätsrat Emil Kremser was appointed senior doctor. In 1929 the hospital was enlarged to house 155 patients.
During the two World Wars, it served, like many other health and spa institutes, as a military hospital. Later, during the post-war period, the Soviets used the hospital for the treatment of lung patients again. This time under the name Gesundheits Einrichtungen Sülzhayn. The two chapels were converted into a gym and swimming pool during the DDR era. At the end of the 1960s, the house became a rehabilitation center for paraplegics. After the fall of communism, the house continued to be used as a hospital for paraplegics, but it was far from meeting Western standards of equipment. As a replacement, a new clinic was built in Sülzhayn.
In 1994, it was bought by Sanmeda Klinik-Betriebs. The building was abandoned during 1997, all the 61 patients were moved to a new Sanmeda building in Haidberg. I took these photos of the abandoned Knappschaftsheilstätte Sülzhayn in 2009. Ten years later the buildings were demolished. Follow this link for more abandoned sanatoria in Europe.
